TOTENKOPF ARCHIVES

The 3. SS-Panzer-Division "Totenkopf" is marked by its dark origins: its earliest elements came from the regiments (T-Standarten) responsible for guarding the concentration camps. Furthermore, the division's military beginnings in 1940 were mediocre — the military training of its soldiers and officers was inadequate — and the division committed several war crimes (including the Paradis massacre) as well as a massacre of civilians (see Aubigny, village martyr, in this volume). However, from Operation Barbarossa in the summer of 1941 onwards, with partly new recruits and hard-won experience, the Totenkopf proved its worth and demonstrated, right up to 8 May 1945, that it was a particularly solid unit, one of the most reliable in the entire German army. It suffered terrible losses but always held its positions under the worst conditions, achieving remarkable combat results. It never gave ground. The constant influx of new recruits did not diminish its military qualities. Following the rapid sell-out of the historical volume devoted to the Totenkopf, this companion volume brings together new photographs, documents and information. In addition, the author presents the service records of the 259 officers who served in this unit and had previously passed through the concentration camp system, some of whom were convicted and executed. These documents also show that the vast majority of the division's soldiers had nothing to do with the men who had been part of the concentration camp system. Thousands of them perished on the Eastern Front in apocalyptic battles. This new volume is a contribution to history concerning a unit that has remained little known until now.